Letters in the editor’s mailbag

Sunday

We natives of Oregon are warning others: the weather will continue to get bad. It is getting like the “Old Oregon” again: rain, snow, freezing and icy roads.

Stop denying it and refusing to function when snow hits, because our weather will not go away.

This is the new weather, and we natives believe it is here to stay. We advise others to buy some boots, knit and get used to it.

D.H. Bucher

Eugene

Railroad span older than suggested

I was disappointed at the inaccuracy of the front-page story of Dec. 24 concerning the Hayden Bridge railroad span. The North Skunk River folks should take a harder look at their bridge.

Across the top of both ends of the bridge reads “Clarke & Reeves Phoenixville, Pa 1868.” According to research done through Southern Pacific Railroad by a Weyerhaeuser engineer in the late 1960s, this bridge was first installed across the Bear River near Corrine, Utah, and opened for traffic April 10, 1869. This was one month before the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit some miles to the west.

Due to the introduction of heavier locomotives and the load limitations of this bridge, it was replaced and moved to its present location in 1901 when Southern Pacific was building new trackage to serve the Booth-Kelly mill at Wendling, four miles upstream from Marcola.

This bridge is not 134 years old, but 147. If I remember correctly, there was an article describing the above information in The Register-Guard in the late 1960s.

The last logs hauled out by Weyerhaeuser over the bridge were in 1987.

Michael Atkinson

Eugene

Trump will need to step up soon

Watching President-elect Donald Trump and his tweets reminds me of the student sitting in the back of the room shooting spitballs during a class. The behavior might help some in that it draws attention from them, but it also hurts others in that it disrupts the class process.

However, in a few weeks Trump will be in the front of the class. He will be responsible for the behavior of the class and whatever progress occurs. He needs to put the spitballs away and start developing a plan of action that is substantive, and not jabs at individual people or entities.

Thom Strunk

Eugene

Trump challenging ‘intelligence?’

These are very trying and anxious times. Tens of millions of people may lose their health insurance. Social Security and Medicare are threatened. North Korea is testing intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Islamic State could strike anywhere at any time. There are predictions of another economic collapse.

With all this doom and gloom to depress us, it was heartening to see that The Register-Guard has not lost its sense of humor, as evidenced by the headline: “Trump challenges intelligence agencies” (Jan. 4).

While the activities of the intelligence gathering and analysis agencies are certainly not above reproach and warrant close scrutiny, it is laughable when a man who exhausts his limited brain power with 140 character tweets should attempt to undertake this task. He should stick to policing his golf courses, a calling where he has demonstrated considerable skill.

Henry J. Bielefeld

Springfield

Storm brings the Great Equalizer

Thursday after work, as I headed for the bus stop, I paused on the corner of 11th Avenue and Ferry Street. I heard the deep mechanical roar of a finely tuned engine. I glanced across the street to see a beautiful Maserati, a $100,000 automobile, stuck in the ice in a parking lot. Its wide rear wheels spun furiously as the engine revved higher.

Just then, an older 1960s-era Volkswagen Beetle approached the intersection. It cautiously rolled to a stop, activated its turn signal, and proceeded happily and securely down 11th Avenue. And the Maserati’s thunder grew louder in a futile attempt to gain progress.

I smiled. Once again, it is affirmed: Mother Nature — this time in the form of ice and snow — is still the Great Equalizer.

Kurt Krueger

Eugene

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